(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Daily Kos Guild Statement on voluntary buyout terms and process [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-14 Guild members who request buyouts are ready to move on to other opportunities and are in a financial position that enables them to create space for others who cannot afford to lose a salary and health care at this time. Because our members are close, and because we fight for one another, we have all become acquainted with each other’s struggles—we all know that some people on staff have chronic illnesses, are sole earners, support extended families, are under mountains of student loan debt, and carry other burdens that would make being unemployed financially impossible and psychologically unsustainable. For these reasons, we ask that the company accept the buyout requests presented to them. While we understand that DKG agreed to allow DKM to reject any buyout request, and are grateful that DKM agreed to provide rationales for those rejections, we hope management will consider that we—as a union and as individuals—are not making these decisions lightly. Those who want to leave should have their requests honored. A majority of us voted to accept the company’s terms, believing DKM would do the right thing. And we know that any departure will necessarily leave some work searching for a worker. Suppose one of the departures of an employee who has requested a voluntary buyout creates an operational gap. In that case, we ask that Daily Kos consider filling that role with one of our remaining employees—many of us can step into new roles or be trained to fulfill different operational needs. This strategy would retain the highest number of employees who want to continue making Daily Kos their home and could encourage skill-building for these employees, which we believe will deepen their commitment to Daily Kos. Training existing staff costs less than hiring and training new employees. Ours is a faster solution that provides a sense of security for those who hope to stay with us at Daily Kos while recognizing the autonomy of our members who choose to leave. As we have asked all along and continue to ask: Please, Daily Kos, act with your heart and not just your wallet. How to Support Us: Recommend this story—help it reach and stay on the Trending list. Leave a comment, even if it is just a word or two, to let us know you are an ally. Memes, gifs, union logos, photos, emojis, anything—say hello! Send a Kosmail to @DK Guild to let you know you’re with us Share a link to this story widely on all social media, and tag us @DailyKosGuild on Twitter and Instagram. Use these hashtags when possible: #DailyKosGuild #NegotiateWithDKG #Solidarity Follow @DailyKosGuild on Twitter and Instagram. Please also follow individual Daily Kos writers and Staff on Twitter and Instagram. Follow the DKG Solidarity group! Please sign our petition: Tell Daily Kos to uphold its mission, values, and commitment to working people , and share the petition link with others , and share the petition link with others Share our story with pro-union friends and family through texts, email, and personal conversation! DKG represents 54 Daily Kos staff members and another 6 "disputed" positions, accounting for 68% of Daily Kos' total workforce. DKG is a Pacific Media Workers Guild member, a local of the NewsGuild/Communication Workers of America, and was certified as the bargaining unit of represented staff in 2022. As a member of The NewsGuild/Communication Workers of America, we move in solidarity with all our union colleagues across the country and the larger worker rights movement. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/14/2152298/-Daily-Kos-Guild-Statement-on-voluntary-buyout-terms-and-process Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/